MINDFUL LEADERSHIP

Class of 2023

Poet Laureates

Baal, Jordan Elizabeth

Bilkovsky, Caitlyn J

Blanchard, Emma Kate

Blaty, Kristen Elizabeth

Caine, Ryan Driscoll

Campbell, Anna M

Chapman, Cassidy Quinn

Emily, Laran Rae

Good, Kathleen Elise

Gutting, Jacob James

Hu, Sydney

Jayaraj, Gautham

Jazrawy, Dona Samer

Jones, Brock David

Kassab, Frederick Demeer

Krasnick, Evan Corey

Mack, Elizabeth Rachel

Meerbrey, Monique Alyssa

Misra, Nathanial Cand

Morse, Matthew William

Oyuela, Bryan

Pearson, Zaida Valonde

Perttunen, Raegen Janice

Ross, Dylan

Schneidt, Sierra Jolene

Utassy, Janka Kata

Williams, Kailey May

Wolk, Sophia Juliette

Yaldoo, Grace E

Wonder

If I talked as you talked, would you hear me?

If I looked as you do, would you see me?

If I confided in you, would you believe me? Or would you say that I lie?

I am wrong, and you are right

And you drag my name out of spite

Insist that you are better than Me, for being who I am.

The warmth of freshly-toasted bread, Enveloped by a hazelnut blanket, Smooth and soft sheen

What a wonder to be alive!

The bare, lanky arms, Jagged lines against the sky, Not a hint of budding life. What a wonder to be alive!

The cascading waterfall, Spattering foam against the bowls, a scent of dawn.

Not so much a wonder to be alive…

I look at the rocks in the pavement and see they draw a picture of the sidewalks history

I look over my balcony to see wires through the sky

Reminding me of the web of connections we share I pick up veggies @ the grocery store, imagine The process it took to get them here. Now I am appreciative

I hear new chords in the same music I have listened to for years

I taste each peppercorn flake on my eggs in the morning

I pay attention to the smell of each new room I walk In, and I imagine what it took for the room to get that way. I feel new connections that were once not there.

I am finding new beauty in what I already know

I like to wonder

I like to wonder high and why

Which I will not deny.

Why does this not do that?

What does that not do this?

Wonder is a simple bliss I will not dismiss

Wonder has many shades

Layers of blades.

Layers of thoughts which I have brought.

Walking up to sunlight streaming through the window

Snoozing your alarm one last time

A text that gives you butterflies

Canvas confetti when you submit an assignment

How a familiar recipe comes out slightly different each time

Watching a tea bag turn water murky

Petting a stranger’s dog, when yours are so far away

All of these joys

So simple

And yet now I see the wonder

In each and every single one

A woman smiles in excitement as she talks to Someone on the phone

You can’t help but wonder if she received some good news

You watch for a moment and feel a smile tug on your face

Her happiness is contagious despite

Never knowing her name

The joy you feel was not yours to start

But you’ve learned that the joy and happiness of others feels even better when shared

You start to wonder if what you’re feeling is what life

Is Really All About

As a child, the sky looked blue

The grass was green and full of life

And trees held secrets I stretched toward the tops to reach

But as my body grew, the branches began to crack beneath my weight

And my hands only clenched soil

The sky turned dark

They tell you to look forward but sometimes when there seems to be only darkness ahead you must remind yourself to look back

Back where the blue sky still peaks through And reflects in your eyes

Your eyes are the same

The child still remains

And she knows the wonder

I wonder how I will do in this exam

I wonder what I should eat for dinner

I wonder what I will be doing in six months

I wonder where my job might take me

I wonder who is really important in my life

I wonder why I am afraid of the unknown

I wonder why I always striving for more who I will be years from now

I wonder

Abundance

Perched upon their green beds they sat in unison

Brother, sister, mother, father, friend, adversary, son, daughter

These black wings stood shoulder to shoulder

… Silent waiting to finish their duty what is life without wonder I wonder

As if waiting for a sign. Or maybe….

One occasionally branched off, Spread its wings, capturing the air of hope until it glided back down to conform with the group. Their mat black coats embedded them in the night like robes, their coordinated caws tugged at my heart like a viola and the hundreds of them froze my heart once they took flight. The hundreds of crows littered the sky as their winds warped the space beneath them, I felt abundance, light, and love in this dark night. Billows and billows of darkness, and these birds glistened with light.

These crows instilled a revitalization of life’s goals within me. I sat and stared at them as they soared in the night. Wonder.

I felt god on a flower petal! as my finger moved over it after I missed my bus. It wasn’t accidentally brushing against the soft petal It was deliberate I felt god on a flower petal. Not a special flower petal But only that was normal. Yet it became my entire world for that short time, I waited on the next bus.

Wonder is a powerful tool in the world It is present from the moment you enter life. to the moment you leave. It makes the world interesting. It breathes life into your existence.

I watched the wind yesterday whipping over trashcans

A mere annoyance

But when I faced the rainbow of trash, spread around the spilled ice cream

I saw something wonderful. A glimpse of life, Microwave popcorn bags

Old wrapping paper, A torn up Lego box. Maybe a movie night?

A valentine celebration?

I don’t know

A glimpse of life in the mundane. Among cold, forgotten trash.

Someone else’s joy.

Comfort

Love.

All wonderful things.

I hope I see another overturned can. Maybe I’ll get to see another person’s wonderful day

I wonder when will it stop

I’m at the gym the news channels flashing

Screens of thousands of police on yet another college campus

I am in my own home

Scrolling through Instagram watching vigils for another lost student

I am driving to class

I am passing a ceremony for a high schooler who took her own life

While I wonder about these things

I wonder about myself.

Am I next?

How will I go to class and focus on learning?

How can we sit and take an exam? while the world takes loved ones away from us

I wonder when will it stop.

I never noticed the clouds

Sometimes they cover the skies

Other times, they allow the sunshine through I never noticed the winter blows

How the covered sky makes me just a little more sad and gray

I never noticed the summer blues

Not a cloud in the sky

Maybe I’m not so blue, but the infinite space above me is

I never noticed the clouds

How they have the ability to prevent or how they protect us from the rays of radiation stemming from the sun

I never noticed the clouds

How wonderful and unpredictable they are How they remind me… to never take the small things for granted.

It is the sparkle in a child’s eye as they try ice cream for the first time

Marveling at the simple combination of just a few ingredients that come together creating a mouthwatering creamy treat that incites a craving only a child’s stomach could endure it is lost on these who unconsciously spoon each scoop without notice on the plush cushions of a couch, mind numbingly unaware of what they are consuming both physically and intellectually as their brain devours hours of senselessness on a screen Hold on to your childhood.

I always had a special secret with the wind even as a young child eyes closed hair flying

A smile that could only be formed by nature’s breath that childlike wonder has not left for every time she breathes that smile comes again that light in my heart glows and I remember myself, small, alone but not lonely for I had the breath of the earth in my lungs

Wonder what is time? this thing that passes us by day by day wonder what is life?

Is there more than what meets the eye I wonder Meaning I wonder what the meaning of here is all the time

Is there any? Do we create our own? Wonder

What do others around me see and think? Do they feel the same as I do, or am I an outlier? Wonder, wonder, wonder

Am I too old to try those things that have seemed to passing by (already!!) No. It is never too late. I know I am here for a reason I know the journey to the end of wonder is the most magical part of it all I wonder? I know.

Sympathetic Joy

It is shown through words of encouragement

“I know you will get the job”

“I know you will do well in exam or through confirmation”

“I knew you’d get it” or “I knew you could do it”

The irony of sympathetic joy is how quick we are to express it

When we’re not involved ourselves, and how quick we are to notice when it is not being expressed when we are involved

Yet, the secret behind it is simple

Emotions are not mutually exclusive

You can celebrate one’s achievement while showing yourself Enough compassion to learn from disappointment.

My roommate bounces down the stairs

Joy in her eyes she exclaims: “I got the job”

“wow that is amazing!” I state but inside I am jealous

Stressed, scared, and anxious by my lack of plans

I do not show her this. I do not want to take away from her moment

I go back upstairs feeling angry at myself

Why can everyone find a job but for me. I think

In my daze I start to feel guilty for my thought She deserves this. She worked so hard I remind myself

In the moment I am reminded of our mindfulness practice

I am happy for her, she deserves this, I repeat I should not be jealous

I am happy I am content

I drift into sleep, peaceful.

Red light

Sitting in the car at the red light

Fists wrapped around the steering wheel

A couple of free minutes – I call dad to see how he is doing

Stressed about getting back for classwhy am I so busy?

He answers the phone and asks about how I am doing

I quickly answer good

Distracted by the never ending to do list that runs through my mind

Soph, I got some good news…

The to-do list stops

As I hear his smile through the phone

My mouth creeps up the side of my cheeks

The joy comes straight though the speaker of the car

Fills up the car with good energy

He’s so happy when I am happy. Is this how he feels?

I finally understood sympathetic joy Green light

I am happy for you! Your smile after your achievement… Is more than one can do or create

A smile that cannot be drawn

Something that causes alignment…

I am happy for you my dear

It feels as though my nature tends towards focusing on me when you tell me of your success I think to turn it around and whine, “oh poor me.” But, I want to feel happy for you, selfless and true

I wish to share in your joy and to congratulate you.

I feel that it may take some time to unlearn what I do.

I will smile when you share with me the excitingly good news and I won’t feel inferiority because I will be proud and happy for you

The feeling that follows after a good or bad session of coaching Good in the sense I watched a gymnast achieve a new skill bad in the sense that they paid no attention were goofing off all practice But the smile and joy never left their face

I feel happy when they try when they smile when they laugh

A good session is not defined by how much they achieved, but how much they enjoyed the class.

It is difficult more often than it is easy

I often cringe

I often worry

My own life, full of unknowns and question marks masks of doubt masks of lapses

But to find joy can be a choice

Being ready is a decision

I decide

I decide to find joy, and if I do not find it within I and it with others

Their smiles, their success, their exclamation points

Exclaim their joy that I, too can rejoin in.

A reason to celebrate, a reason to smile

A decision to ready for joy a decision to find happiness in loving support

I look around at the smiling faces but with a jolt of jealousy take a step back and close your eyes forget your hardships, feel the joy of others Take a break from judgment

Sympathetic joy

Rejoice

Generosity

You did this I did that!

Jack, why tit for tat?

Relation is not a banking

Or a birthday partying. It is not even anything! And no…

I would punch or hurt! Expect my limitless words

That always release the birds

It has to be this way

When a friend needs a ride back Or some kind of tool, I am bound to say good luck!

I see it all around

But, I forget to look inside

I watch the world crumble piece by piece but ignore those who give more again

The smallest of actions lead to the most happiness

It is all around, if you look close enough

The world is not in shambles

I think as I see a woman drop her purse

I pick it up and hand it to her

She is grateful, we both feel whole

We are the glue

Generosity will always shine through

The trees provide material generosity to the squirrels who run freely on their branches